LONG SHADOWS: RELIEF EFFORTS, ARMENIAN REFUGEES

International relief efforts were critical for the survival of Armenian refugees.

Western missionaries were involved in underground networks that assisted in the rescue of Armenians via Dersim between 1915 and 1916. These networks were built on existing humanitarian groups fromed in Europe, the USA and Australia in the wake of massacres committed against Armenians in the 1890s under Sultan Abdulhamid II. They became the Near East Relief - the most comprehensive relief organisation of its time. Near East Relief continued its work in the Middle East up to 1930.

However, such relief efforts had limited impact on the overall plight of the Armenians during the genocide. This was especially the case in the second phase when only Armenians and a few experienced foreigners maintained contact with the secluded death camps in the Syrian desert.

Badges

This badge was issued in Port Pirie, South Australia on 8 December 1922 on Armenian Button Day. The Port Pirie branch of the Armenian Relief Fund raised funds for Armenian refugees. Fundraising activities were conducted by the Salvation Army, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Baptist churches with local council support and co-operation.

Fundraising badges, also called tinnies, pins or pin-backs, were commonly referred to as 'buttons' and were issued across Australia. In Victoria, the Commonwealth Button Fund (CBF) helped raise funds for the war effort. From 1915 to 1920, the CBF conducted 33 button days for both Australian and Allied war relief efforts, including Armenia, Belgium, France, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia and Syria. This badge was issued in Melbourne on 7 December 1917 on Suffering Nations Day, with the total proceeds of £7,000 divided equally for the Armenian, Serbian and Syrian relief efforts.